Bosom Bodies (Mina's Adventures) (26 page)

“Fair enough.”

The breakfast consisted of oatmeal, a small bowl of berries, a glass of milk and coffee. Not bad.

Mina
was
restless
in a mental way
, anxious
. She
di
dn’t understand why, but something nagged at her deep
down
. Road rage, that’s what the TV news reported about the shooting. Dow
nr
ight
bizarre. No mention of Diego. N
o mention of victims. Maybe they already ran the full report and she caught the tail end?
That’s when it hit her that
she didn’t
even
know Diego’s last name. How was that possible?
A
ll the time she spent with him in his home, in his car, in his arms—she didn’t know his name. Her first impulse was to phone
DeFiore
. And say what?

No. She wouldn’t call
DeFiore
. She wouldn’t draw any further attention to herself, not if she could help it.
If she wanted to see Diego
,
she must become unnoticeable. No fuss
,
no muss. Mina had no idea what muss meant, but she liked the sound of it. Yes, visiting Diego was number one priori
t
y. T
he rest could wait.

The phone rang, “Hello?”

“Good morning, Mina. How are you feeling? Ready to go home?”

“Hi Adams. Yes, as ready as possible, waiting for Margo.”

“You should be a happy young woman. You are going home, and Brian is coming back. He
’
s arriving tomorrow afternoon
. H
e
is anxious to see you. You think you’ll be well enough to drive to the airport?
”

“Oh, yeah, I guess. I don’t know if I’ll have my car by then.”

“No, no. Your car wouldn’t do
, not w
ith luggage and all. I’
ll pick you up and we can take the Continental. It’s large enough to accommodate the suitcases
and the four of us
, too
. I’ll call you this evening and we can work out the details. Aren’t you ex
c
ited?”

“Ecstatic. Well, I better get dressed. Thanks
,
Adams.” Shit.

So Brian and his mother would be coming back tomorrow. Mina had to tell Brian about Diego. Sneaking around wasn’t her style. Besides
,
the only reason Brian and his mother were safely on their way back to the States was because of Diego.
Because Diego cared about her.
She was getting misty. Mina jumped off t
he bed, surprised at only a small ache in her leg. S
he went into the bathroom.

By the time Margo arrived, Mina was ready.

“What the hell? Mina, why are you wearing that leather jacket? It’s not that cold and you look like the Michelin
Man
.”

“Shh. I’ll tell you later.” She sat in the wheelchair and held Diego’s black helmet on her lap. The flowers and the balloons were left behind
with
the nurse
s who were
instructed to
distribute them among
the other patients and the chapel.

Outside, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. Only
forty-eight
hours had passed since Diego dropped her off at West Coast Software
,
and yet
her life would never be the same. The nurse
’s
aide helped her get into the car. Mina was still bundled up in Diego’s jacket. They waved good
-
bye and Margo headed toward the
parking lot
exit
. Mina unlocked the safety belt
and started to
take off
the jacket.

“I told you it was warm outside.”

“Margo, pull over. P
ark the car.”

“What? You nuts?”

“No, no. I have a plan. Park
,
please.”

Margo shook her hea
d and
circled around slowly until she found an empty parking space.

“What are you up to?” Margo asked.

“I’m going back to see Diego
.
”

“You
’re
what? And how are you planning on doing that, genius?”

“That’s why I wore the leather jacket so no one will recognize me by my clothing. Maybe I should borrow your sweater, and…”

“No.”

“No, what?”

“I’m not lending you my clothes. If you
’
re going back there I’m going with you.”

“Why? I don’t want to attract attention.”

“Mina, I know you. If they don’t let you in
,
you’ll make a scene. Adams made me promise
not to
let you out of my sight. So
where you go, I’ll go with you. And let me be very clear
.
I think it’s foolish
,
and if I
were
in your shoes
…
I would do
exactly
the same
thing
. Now tell me how you’re planning
to
get past the cop.”

They
managed to make their way to
the I
CU
floor without any problem.
Between
the elevator
and the big double doors
leading to the care area
a lobby with comfy chairs provided a place for
people waiting for news of
their loved ones. Mina went to drink from the water fountain
wh
ere she could keep
an eye on
both the elevator and
the double doors.

Suddenly the elevator opened
. A
young woman
and
teen
age
girl
stepped out and
headed to the doors.
The two walked purposefully
, as if they knew the routine
. Mina and Margo fell into step behind them. The young woman entered a code on the keypad. The doors opened and all four women walked through
.
Mina’s heart bopped in her throat at the thought of seeing Diego, touching his hand, talking to him. The group of four women walked by the nurse’s station and then split. The young woman with the teen
ager
took a left
,
while Mina and Margo headed straight toward the corridor
with the glass walls. No cop. Oh, my God, the cop was gone. No chair either, meaning he wasn’t due back. Mina quickened her pace.

“Hey, slow down,” Margo whispered.

But there was no stopping her. The glass door was wide open, and so were the inside curtains. A short, dark skinned woman was stripping the empty bed.

“Where is he?” Mina didn’t mean to sound angry, but her panic translated to a loud voice.

The hospital worker looked up, smiled, and went back to her work. Mina noticed her
nametag
, Ana. “Ana, where is the man who was in this bed? It’s very important.”

Ana smiled again and shook her head
.
“
No comprendo
.
”
S
he had a soft voice, a shy manner.

“Damn it.” Mina felt light-headed;
she could hardly control her shaking.

“Let me try,” Margo said
, but
before she
had a chance,
a nurse entered
.

“
Is there a problem? Are you ladies lost?”

“Diego. The man who was here. Where is he?” Mina asked.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.
I
’ve been
off the last
two
days. You’ll need to go back to the nurse’s station and ask there. They have all the information. Sorry.”
She didn’t look sorry.

Margo grabbed Mina’s elbow
and guided her out of the room
toward the nurse
s’
station. “Mina, what’s Diego last name?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know his last name?
How
are you going to ask
them
?”

“I don’t know. I
have
to find him. I’ll look in every room of this damn hospital if necessary.”

“No, you won’t. Let me do the talk
ing
.”

The only person behind the
station
desk was a young man w
earing
thick glasses
and
star
ing
at
a
monitor.

“Excuse me, sir.” Margo
used
her sweetest voice
.
“We were here to visit our friend Diego
. H
e was in the last room down there
.
” She pointed
down
the corridor
just
a
s
Ana pushed her cart out the
door
. “Yes, that room where that lady came out. Diego isn’t there
. N
o one is there. What happened? Was he moved to a different floor?”

“Are you family?” The young man asked.

“No
,
sir, like I said, we are good friends.” She winked
,
and to Mina’s amazement, he
half
smiled.

“I can’t give you details. You’ll need to talk to the family of the dece—I mean to his family. They came to retrieve—they were here earlier. So sorry.”

Mina
felt sick. Her heart pounded in her throat. What was he sayi
ng? Certainly he was confused. S
he must find someone else to ask. Someone in charge.

Margo
’s arm circled Mina’s
shoulders
as she lite
rally dragged her out of the ICU
,
t
hrough the massive double doors
to the elevator. “Shut up, Mina. Don’t say a word. No scene. That fool didn’t know what he was talking about. You need to call
DeFiore
. I
f nothing else
,
he can tell you Diego’s last name. Let’s go.”

“Go? Where?” Mina couldn’t think. This was not possible. Diego was in that bed the night before. She didn’t dream it. Margo saw him too. Family? What family?

She let Margo guide her to the car
. Mina’s soul screamed wh
ile her face remained frozen
. Margo
buckle
d
the belt on her
, avoiding her eyes.
They
dr
o
ve off the hospital parking lot, heading to The Bayside condos
and Mina thought that only her body sat in the car, her heart, her soul were still back there, aching for Diego
.

“Mina, be strong. W
e’ll call
DeFiore
the minute we get to your place. I’m sure there is a logic
al
explanation for this. Okay?”

Mina nodded an
d kept looking straight ahead. S
he held Diego’s black helmet against her heart.

Margo stopped at the gate, but instead of waving the car through, the security man stepped out of the guardhouse and walked over to the driver
’s
side. The window was rolled down. Herb stuck his head in and looked around.

He smiled at Margo and spoke around her to Mina.
“Good morning Mina, Miss Calvi. How are you? Triple A came by a little earlier and dropped off your Volkswagen. Since you weren’t home
,
they left the key with
us
.” He handed M
argo
a large white envelope. “It’s inside. Are you okay? You look a little—pale.”

Mina nodded and took the envelope
from Margo
.

“She was at the dentist,” Margo said, “too much laughing gas.” She stepped on the accelerator and pulled away.

They drove into the common garage
. T
he
re she was, the
rag top
Bug, in all her bright yellow splendor.

Under normal circumstances
,
Mina would have jumped out of Margo’s
car
,
hopped into
her
sweet VW
, stroked the seats and started the engine, just to reassure herself she really did get her
car
back.